The firm that owns a ferry, which caught fire and was left drifting with more than 800 people on board, has suspended its vessels from a North Sea route.

A faulty hydraulic pipe is the most likely cause of the fire on the Princess of Scandinavia, which broke out 140 miles off the UK coast.

The ferry's owner, Denmark's DFDS Seaways, said on Monday all scheduled sailings on its route from North Shields, near Newcastle, have been suspended for at least a week.

A major rescue operation was launched on Friday evening after Aberdeen coastguard received a distress signal sent by the vessel at around 2245 BST.

The investigations support our theory that a leakage from a hydraulic pipe above the main engine caused the fire

Thor Johannessen, DFDS

The ship had left Newcastle bound for Kristiansand in Norway at 1500 BST on Friday, with 758 passengers and 126 crew on board.

The fire broke out between two engines and the ship's funnel, causing a loss of power and the vessel to drift.

Crew members managed to bring the fire under control and at 0200 BST on Saturday one engine began working again, and the vessel limped into the Norwegian port, nearly eight hours late.

On Monday Leif Nikkelsen, of DFDS Seaways, told BBC Radio Newcastle the ship was being taken to a Danish shipyard for extensive examinations.

He said: "We have an idea what went wrong, since Danish shipping authorities spent all day on board on Sunday.

'Remarkable job'

"They are now putting their report together concerning this. We have now decided that until and including 27 May we are not sailing this route.

"On Tuesday we will decide what to do after the 27th."

On Sunday DFDS said the official report into the incident was not expected before the end of June.

The company, however, quoted maritime authority ship surveyor Lars Jacobsen praising crew members for having done a "remarkable job".

PA failed

DFDS managing director Thor Johannessen said: "Safety for the passengers and the crew is our main concern. Now, it is our job to establish the cause of the fire.

"However, the investigations support our theory that a leakage from a hydraulic pipe above the main engine caused the fire."

The company also said the ship's public address system had failed due to heat.

A spokesman said crew members had used walkie talkies to keep passengers informed throughout the incident.